Doug Ramsey on Jazz and other matters...

CD: Rudy Royston

In his debut as a leader the young drummer from Denver (area code 303) fronts a septet of his generation’s more adventurous players. The eclecticism of the music encompasses Radiohead’s “High and Dry,” the Mozart motet “Ave Verum Corpus,” a drum feature inspired by Elvin Jones, and homage to Denver trumpeter Ron Miles. Even in “Bownze,” the Jones tribute, Royston refrains from drum exhibitionism. Throughout, he melds his work with the septet, which includes two bassists—Yasushi Nakamura and Mimi Jones, the ingenious saxophonist Jon Irabagon, Australian trumpeter Nadja Noordhuis, pianist Sam Harris and guitarist Nir Felder. Royston’s impressive compositions and arrangements provide ensemble unity.

Doug Ramsey

Doug is a recipient of the lifetime achievement award of the Jazz Journalists Association. He lives in the Pacific Northwest, where he settled following a career in print and broadcast journalism in cities including New York, New Orleans, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, San Antonio, Cleveland and Washington, DC. His writing about jazz has paralleled his life in journalism... Read More…

Rifftides

A winner of the Blog Of The Year award of the international Jazz Journalists Association. Rifftides is founded on Doug's conviction that musicians and listeners who embrace and understand jazz have interests that run deep, wide and beyond jazz. Music is its principal concern, but the blog reaches past... Read More...

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Doug’s Picks

Recorded six months before his acclaimed All By Myself, pianist Lundgren’s 2013 trio album contains two unaccompanied pieces that differ from the solo album and from one another. Lundgren develops his “Flowers Of Sendai” into a series of dance-like chromatic passages seasoned with whimsy before he lets it down easy, still dancing. His version of Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life” lives up to the title, with sumptuous harmonies including, as a distingué trace of sophistication, an ever-so-slightly dissonant final chord. In the rest of the album Lundgren, his longtime bassist Mattias Svensson and new drummer Zoltan Csörsz Jr. explore his own compositions and others by Svensson, Richard Galliano, Paolo Fresu and Georg Reidel. Svensson’s powerful solo on fellow bassist Reidel’s “Melancolia” is a highlight. In the US, the French CD is extravagantly priced. The MP3 download is an affordable option.

The quotations on the back of this remarkable book include one from a Jazz Times review that I wrote many years ago. It calls Terry, “one of the well-hidden clarinet secrets of our time.” At 78, his talent remains undercover despite accolades from Jim Hall, Roger Kellaway and Gene Lees, despite Dizzy Gillespie’s admiration for his musicianship. In part, that is because of his devotion to the camp he ran for years to develop character in difficult young boys. In an extension of that mission, Terry helped youngsters in the US and Poland learn to play jazz. He found time to record superb albums with guitarists Lenny Breau, John Basile and some of his Polish discoveries. All along, Terry has struggled with Attention Deficit Disorder. As natural a writer as he is a musician, his story leaves the reader admiring his heart, humor and courage.

There were flutists in jazz before Sam Most (1930-2013), but not many. He was the first to bring bebop to the instrument. His 1953 recording of “Undercurrent Blues” had a profound impact on virtually every flutist who followed him, including Herbie Mann, Roland Kirk, Yusef Lateef, Hubert Laws and James Moody. Most made this album for Xanadu during a late 1970s resurgence. It finds him at a peak of expressiveness. The richness of his tone, the power of his swing and his bone-deep bluesiness are irresistible. Pianist Kenny Barron, bassist George Mraz and drummer Walter Bolden are in flawless synch with Most and with one another. From the Attic of My Mind is one of a half-dozen Xanadu reissues in a projected series of 25. Others feature Jimmy Rowles, Al Cohn, Barry Harris, Jimmy Heath and Albert Heath.

The “Company” of the title refers to more than Cables’ trio members, bassist Essiet Essiet and drummer Victor Lewis. It alludes to four fellow pianists whose compositions he plays in addition to two of his own in this relaxed collection. At 70, Cables reflects the values of the jazz mainstream of which he has been a solid part. In decades of work with Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, Art Pepper, Joe Henderson and others he has been a respected sideman and leader. Between his lengthy opening exploration of “After the Morning,” a John Hicks waltz, and the concluding single chorus of Billy Strayhorn’s “Day Dream,” Cables interprets pieces by Duke Ellington and Kenny Barron. Sparked by Lewis, Cables’ “Mr. Anonymouse” is an adventure in kinetic energy.

Dorham was of the generation of trumpet players indebted to Dizzy Gillespie. As his playing gained individuality in the late forties, he developed into one of the trumpet’s great melodic improvisers. His rhythm section here is pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Arthur Taylor. A few months earlier in 1960, they accompanied John Coltrane in his watershed “Giant Steps” session. The CD contains Dorham originals and five standard songs. His readings of the melodies of “My Ideal,” “I Had the Craziest Dream,” “Old Folks” and “Mack the Knife” conjure up the lyrics almost as surely as if he were singing them. Then, he proceeds to create melodies that equal or surpass the originals. “Alone Together” consists of Dorham playing the melody one time. His only improvisation is ten seconds of gentle declension at the end. It’s a magical performance.

Sanchez is inevitably associated with his improvised solo drum sound track of last year’s hit film Birdman. The essential part he played in the movie brought him to the attention of millions unlikely to have known him from his work with Pat Metheny, Danilo Pérez and Miguel Zenón. Here, Sanchez collaborates with musicians from the top ranks of jazz who are masters at listening, adapting and melding. The three trios have different personalities, but under the command of Sanchez’s rhythmic mastery the 2-CD album has an adventurous consistency. Sanchez, pianist Brad Mehldau and bassist Matt Brewer find something new in Miles Davis’s “Nardis.” Guitarist John Scofield and bassist Christian McBride shine in Sanchez’s “Rooney And Vinski.” Saxophonist Joe Lovano and bassist John Patitucci have a field day with Sanchez in Thelonious Monk’s “I Mean You.” There is much to discover in this bracing collection.